The Old New Thing

What does the /ALTERNATENAME linker switch do?

July 31, 2020 Jul 31, 2020 07/31/20

Raymond Chen

In case of emergency, go look for something else.

Why would the incremental linker insert padding between section fragments?

January 14, 2019 Jan 14, 2019 01/14/19

Raymond Chen

So it can be incremental more easily.

Gotchas when using linker sections to arrange data, part 1

November 8, 2018 Nov 8, 2018 11/8/18

Raymond Chen

Nulls can show up in unexpected places.

Using linker segments and __declspec(allocate(…)) to arrange data in a specific order

November 7, 2018 Nov 7, 2018 11/7/18

Raymond Chen

Getting the ducks in a row, in order.

Link-time code generation invalidates a lot of classical assumptions about linking

June 6, 2014 Jun 6, 2014 06/6/14

Raymond Chen

It goes beyond special relativity, beyond general relativity... into TIME TRAVEL.

Why can’t I __declspec(dllexport) a function from a static library?

March 21, 2014 Mar 21, 2014 03/21/14

Raymond Chen

You can, but the function needs to be linked in.

Understanding errors in classical linking: The delay-load catch-22

January 11, 2013 Jan 11, 2013 01/11/13

Raymond Chen

Wrapping up our week of understanding the classical model for linking, we'll put together all the little pieces we've learned this week to puzzle out a linker problem: The delay-load catch-22. You do some code cleanup, then rebuild your project, and you get LNK4199: /DELAYLOAD:SHLWAPI ignored; no imports found from SHLWAPI What does ...

Understanding the classical model for linking: Sometimes you don’t want a symbol to come along for a ride

January 10, 2013 Jan 10, 2013 01/10/13

Raymond Chen

Continuing our study of the classical model for linking, let's take another look at the trick of taking symbols along for the ride. The technique of taking symbols along for the ride is quite handy if that's what you want, but sometimes you don't actually want it. For example, a symbol taken along for the ride may create conflicts or ...

Understanding the classical model for linking: You can override an LIB with another LIB, and a LIB with an OBJ, but you can’t override an OBJ

January 9, 2013 Jan 9, 2013 01/9/13

Raymond Chen

If you study the classical model for linking, you'll see that OBJ files provided directly to the linker have a special property: They are added to the module even if nobody requests a symbol from them. OBJs bundled into a library are pulled into the module only if they are needed to resolve a needed symbol request. If nobody needs a symbol ...

Understanding the classical model for linking: Taking symbols along for the ride

January 8, 2013 Jan 8, 2013 01/8/13

Raymond Chen

Last time, we learned the basics of the classical model for linking. Today, we'll look at the historical background for that model, and how the model is exploited by libraries. In the classical model, compilers and assemblers consume source code and spit out an OBJ file. They do as much as they can, but eventually they get stuck because ...